Blizzard's Next Solo Adventure, The Dalaran Heist, Arrives Next Week

The League of E.V.I.L. is almost ready to unleash its master plan, in the Dalaran Heist, a new solo adventure coming to Hearthstone next week. The league will be "ransacking, reassembling, and robbing" Dalaran, as Game Designer Giovanni Scarpati put it, using a format similar to previous adventures Dungeon Run and Monster Hunt, but with some new wrinkles.

You'll play as one of nine henchmen in the League, each representing one of the nine classes in the game, though you'll be able to craft your starting loadout, which can modify and upgrade as you progress. "This was one of the most requested features," Scarpati said, "and the first one we worked on." Once you've completed every chapter, you'll unlock Anomaly Mode, which adds additional random rule sets. The dev team will be tracking everything -- hero choices, hero powers, decks, and locations -- in the attempt, one would imagine, to provide equally interesting single-player challenges in the future.

There are five chapters, each representing a different part of Dalaran, with unique bosses and a unique rule. The first will be available for free next Thursday, May 16, with the second chapter requiring a purchase. Future chapters will be available over the coming weeks. That's a departure from other single-player modes, which have been free since Blizzard switched to this format, but it's not unexpected. There seems to be a lot in the Dalaran Heist, and it would be hard for Blizzard to design such an intricate bit of content without charging something for it.